Create SQL Server Connections
You can create a new connection, or connect to an existing connection from the Create New Connection window. See Troubleshoot SQL Server® Issues for more information about troubleshooting connection issues.
Note: For SQL Azure connections:
- To be able to utilize majority of Toad functionality please grant VIEW DEFINITION on the SQL Azure databases you want to work with.
- You can login to Windows Azure Platform by selecting Tools | Cloud Computing | SQL Azure Portal and providing your credentials.
- Make sure that no Azure firewall rule restricts your IP address from having access to Azure server. See Create and Alter Azure Firewall Rules for more information.
-
Click
on the toolbar (ALT+F+N).
-
Select Microsoft SQL Server or Microsoft SQL Azure from the Group list box.
-
Review the following for additional information:
Login Tab Description Server name
Enter the name of the server to use when connecting.
Click
to display any servers running SQL Server that are currently active on the network.
Notes:
- For SQL Azure connections, enter InstanceName.database.windows.net in this field.
- For named instances, enter the MachineName\InstanceName in this field.
Authentication
Select the type of authentication to use for this connection.
-
You can connect to an Azure SQL database with Active Directory authentication
-
You can also connect to an Azure SQL database with Active Directory Universal with MFA.
Note: You cannot create a SQL Azure connection using Windows Authentication.
Password
Enter the password to use when connecting.
Tip: After connecting, you can set a master password to further secure your connection in Tools | Options| Environment | Security.
Application ID
Enter the application ID located in App registrations in Azure Active Directory. (This is a mandatory field when connecting to Microsoft SQL Azure via MFA.)
Redirect URI
Enter the appropriate redirect URI.(This is an optional field when connecting to Microsoft SQL Auzre via MFA which can be left empty unless you have specific requirements for configuring the Redirect URI.)
Category
Select or create a category if you want to color code Editor tabs for a specific connection. This can help differentiate between development and production databases. You can also set an option to color code the Object Explorer pane and object editor windows (Create, Alter, Drop, etc.). Encrypt connection
Select this option to enable encryption for the current connection provided that the certificate has been already installed on the server. Advanced Tab Description Network protocol
Select one of the following:
- Shared Memory
- TCP/IP
-
Named Pipes
Note: When establishing Named Pipes connection "Poll service status in connection list" option should be cleared.
Parameter Name/Value
You can add parameters to the connection. Toad includes the Application Name parameter with value Toad Data Studio by default. OBDC driver
Select an ODBC driver to use for this connection when creating cross-connection queries.
Tip: You can specify the ODBC driver to use for all connections for this database provider in Tools | Options | Database | SQL Server.
-
Click Connect to save the connection and immediately connect to the database.
or
Click Save to save the connection without connecting to the database.
Tip: Connections are stored in the connections.xml file and can be found by clicking the Application Data Directory link in Help | About.
To import connections (including Central Management Server connections)
- Click
.
-
Specify the location where the connections currently reside.
Note: Review the following for additional information on CMS connections:
- To import CMS connections, select a server from the list where the CMS is registered. The connection to this SQL Server instance should be created beforehand.
- CMS is available beginning with Microsoft SQL Server 2008.
- User should have an appropriate login (Windows Authentication and grant to connect to selected server are required) created on the server to which he connects via CMS.
- Select the connections to be imported.
Troubleshoot SQL Server® Issues
Microsoft SQL Azure Connections with Multi-factor Authentication
To create this type of connection to Microsoft SQL Azure, Active Directory Universal with MFA needs to be selected from the Authentication field dropdown.
The next step is to enter a user name which has been configured for multi-factor authentication and put in the appropriate App ID. After filling out the required information, click on Connect.
The step that follows will enable you to select a user from the list or add another one by clicking on Use another account.
After that, you will be prompted to enter your credentials and depending on the type of authentication that the account has been configured with, you will undergo an additional authentication step, such as the one in the image below.
After completing the final authentication step, a successful connection to Microsoft SQL Azure will be made.
Create SharePoint Connections
Toad allows you to connect to SharePoint via OData service to view and query SharePoint lists as tables. Toad supports SharePoint 2010 and 2013. You can also create a connection to SharePoint Online.
After creating a connection, see About SharePoint Data Sources for more information.
To create a SharePoint connection
- Click
- Select SharePoint from the Group list.
-
Enter the connection information in the Create New Connection dialog. Review the following for additional information:
URL Enter the full URL address to the SharePoint OData service endpoint for the SharePoint site to which you want to connect.
The URL address should have the following format:
http://<servername>/_vti_bin/listdata.svc
Authentication Select the type of authentication to use for this connection. Toad offers two options:
- Basic Authentication
- Active Directory Universal with MFA
The required login fields will be enabled or disabled according to the authentication type that is chosen.
Username For SharePoint—Enter your Windows user name to use when connecting to this SharePoint site.
For SharePoint Online—Enter the user name to use when connecting to this instance of SharePoint Online.
Password Enter the password to use when connecting.
Tip: After connecting, you can set a master password to further secure your connection in Tools | Options| Environment | Security.
SharePoint Online Select this option if creating a connection to a SharePoint Online instance. Category (Optional) Select an existing category or create a new one. Note: In NoSQL and Business Intelligence connections, Toad automatically saves the password in the connections.xml file as obfuscated text, as well as in Toad. To add additional password security, use Toad's Master Password feature.
- Click Connect to connect immediately while saving the connection information. Optionally, click Save to save the connection without connecting.
- Upon creating an initial connection, Toad automatically maps the data source objects. This process runs in the background, and until it is finished, you may experience a delay when attempting to access these objects.
Tips:
- Connections are stored in the connections.xml file and can be found by clicking the Application Data Directory link in Help | About.
- You can specify a proxy server to use for Business Intelligence and NoSQL connections at Tools | Options | Database | Data Services.
SharePoint Connections with Multi-factor Authentication
To create this type of connection to SharePoint, Active Directory Universal with MFA needs to be selected from the Authentication field dropdown.
The next step is to enter a user name which has been configured for multi-factor authentication and click on Connect.
Toad Authentication Window will appear allowing you to select either Windows Authentication or AzureADTrust for the type of credentials which will be used for the connection.
The step that follows will enable you to select a user from the list or add another one by clicking on Use another account.
After that, you will be prompted to enter your credentials and depending on the type of authentication that the account has been configured with, you will undergo an additional authentication step, such as the one in the image below.
After completing the final authentication step, a successful connection to SharePoint will be made.
Limitations of SharePoint connections with Multi-factor Authentication
-
Setting a default SharePoint connection in Tools|Options|Environment is currently available only for Basic Authentication
Understand Toad Connections
Review this topic to learn about open database connections in Toad.
For information about switching the current connection in Toad, see Switching Connections in Toad.
Toad Open Connections
In Toad, an open connection in the Connection/Navigation Manager represents one or more actual connections to the database
- Toad creates an initial database connection for general use.
-
Toad also creates a separate database connection for each Editor (the first time you execute a statement) and for each Data tab in the Database Explorer (the first time you select the tab and query data).
The connection associated with the window (or tab) remains open until you close the window. If a window has an associated connection, but a statement is not currently executing, the connection is in an inactive state.
To view information for an open connection
-
To view the number of actual database connections that exist for a Toad connection, including the number of active connections, place the cursor over the connection in the Connection/Navigation Manager pane or in the connection drop-down list.
To use the Background Processes pane
- When a statement is executing, a progress bar displays in the Status bar located at the bottom of the Toad application window. Click the executing progress bar to open the Background Processes pane.
-
To cancel statement execution, use the Background Processes pane.
Note: It is recommended that you cancel only your own processes, because terminating Toad activities could cause unexpected behavior.
Sharing a Connection Among Windows
You can instruct Toad to share an open connection among windows. In this way, the Editor windows and Data tabs can share the same connection when the connection is inactive.
To share a database connection among windows in Toad
- Select Tools | Options | Editor | General.
-
Clear the checkbox for the Use individual connection for each open editor option.
-
When this option is not selected, Toad attempts to use a single connection for any new windows or query execution. For example, if you share a database connection, you can execute a query in the Editor, execute another query in a new Editor, and then select the Data tab from the same connection.
If the single connection is in use when Toad attempts to execute it, the following occurs:
- (DB2 and Oracle only) If your database supports executing multiple queries simultaneously on a shared connection, the query is placed in a queue and executes as soon as the current operation completes.
- If your database does not support executing multiple queries on a shared connection, a dialog prompts you to either permanently associate the window with a new database connection, cancel the previous operation, or add the query to a queue until the current operation completes, and the execute it. If you place multiple queries in the queue, each one executes in the order that it was added to the queue.
Note: Although you can share a database connection, any commits apply to the selected window only.
Troubleshoot SQL Server Connections
Connection Issues
Review the following solutions to help troubleshoot SQL Server connection issues in Toad.
| Issue | Cause/Solution |
|---|---|
|
Cannot specify a port number when connecting |
Currently, Toad does not have a separate field for specifying a port number. Solution: You can connect if you know the port number for the instance by entering the following in the Server name field on the New Connection window: ServerName,Port or IPAddress,Port For example: 10.1.29.129,1234 (where 1234 is the port number of the instance) |
|
Cannot connect to a remote instance in SQL Server 2005 |
Remote connections may not be enabled in SQL Server 2005. Also, named instances are configured to use dynamic ports and select an available port once the SQL Server Service starts. If you are connecting to a named instance through a firewall, configure the Database Engine to listen on a specific port, so that the appropriate port is opened in the firewall. Note: Remote connections are disabled by default in the Express and Developer editions of SQL Server 2005. Solution: To enable remote connections, see "How to configure SQL Server 2005 to allow remote connections" at: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/914277 |
|
"Path is not of a legal form" error message when connecting or "Could not find a part of the path |
You attempted to migrate settings from a previous install of Toad to the current install, but the settings file (InitialSqlServer.Sql) for the previous install was either removed, moved, or corrupt. You may also receive this error if you installed Toad and migrated settings from a previous version, and later uninstalled the previous version. Solution: You must specify a valid location for the InitialSqlServer.Sql file in Toad. To specify a valid location
By default, this file is located in the following directory: C:\Program Files\Quest Software\Toad Data Studio version \Templates\Scripts Note: Clicking |
| Cannot establish Named Pipes connection |
If you are trying to connect to the server using Named Pipes, "Poll service status in connection list" option should be cleared. Solution:
|
| Cannot access some functionality when working with Azure connection. |
To utilize majority of Toad functionality VIEW DEFINITION grant is required for those databases you want to work with. |